Geography

"Because it's there"……One of the most famous quotes in the field of mountaineering was made by George Mallor, when asked why he wanted to climb Mt. Everest, the World's highest mountain. The same quote could be applied to why pupils study the world through Geography here at Immanuel College...

The Geography Department at Immanuel College aims to provide pupils with opportunities to develop a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Pupils are provided with opportunities to learn about diverse places, people, resources, natural and human environments as well as developing their understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes (in order to foster their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes) and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments.

From Raging Rivers in Year 7 to Tourism and Globalisation in Year 8 to the geography of Chocolate in Year 9 – these are just some of the areas that pupils study in Key Stage 3.

Currently the Cambridge Geography IGCSE is taught in Key Stage 4. It combines traditional themes such as population, settlement, volcanoes and earthquakes, weather and climate with essential map work and fieldwork skills. Pupils begin the IGCSE course half way through Year 9. There are two exam papers to sit at the end of Year 11 (worth 45% and 27.5% respectively) and one piece of coursework (worth 27.5% of the IGCSE).

Students study the Cambridge International A-level in Key Stage 5. This is a two year course that covers a broad range of physical and human topics. Four exams are sat at the end of Year 13 each worth 25% of the overall A-level. Students are expected to learn independently as well as in the classroom.

We provide a range of extracurricular activities at lunchtimes which give students opportunities to develop their subject skills, take part in debates, and mix with pupils from other year groups. This includes WAFSOC, our World Affairs Society that meets every Monday lunchtime, to discuss a different global issue through presentations which the pupils create themselves giving them the opportunity to think about geographical issues beyond the classroom and allows them to develop their own areas of interest further. Recent trips in the lower school include Cadbury World when exploring the Geography of Chocolate and pupils also gained invaluable knowledge about tropical plants and animals through visiting a real life Rainforest based here in the UK! There are also opportunities for fieldtrips at GCSE which include an investigation into sustainable tourism in a local green space, exploring the stunning World Famous Heritage Site, Dorset coastline which includes Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove and the Studland nature reserve. A-level students explore the characteristics of the River Chess through on-site fieldwork in collaboration with the Amersham Field Studies Centre, to further deepen their knowledge of river dynamics.